Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 25, 1995 TAG: 9511290038
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
None of that happenedis suing.
In a lawsuit filed this week in Roanoke Circuit Court, Smith is seeking $1.45 million in damages from Delta and its commuter airline, Comair, accusing them of false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
But the issue is not money, says Smith's attorney.
"If the airline had treated him with just one smidgen of courtesy, then he wouldn't be filing this lawsuit,'' Roanoke lawyer Randy Cargill said.
According to the lawsuit, Smith, a sales representative for H.B. Fuller Co., was not allowed to board an airplane in Cincinnati the morning of Oct. 5 because officials at the Roanoke airport, where he had begun his trip, had failed to check his identification.
Although he didn't know it at the time, Smith, of Botetourt County, was the victim of a new Federal Aviation Administration requirement that airlines check identification of all travelers when they check in for a flight. Passengers must show either an identification card with a photo, such as a driver's license, or two non-photo IDs, such as a Social Security card and a birth certificate.
The ID check didn't happen in Roanoke, but the oversight was not discovered until Smith was in Cincinnati, catching a connecting flight to Minneapolis. His driver's license was back in Roanoke, in the glove compartment of his car.
After meeting three representatives of a major customer, Smith was told he could not board the flight with them because his ticket was not properly marked. Comair agents refused to give an explanation, simply telling him to "step aside" as the plane took off without him, according to the lawsuit.
"His customers, who he was trying to impress, were sitting on the plane as it was taking off, thinking, `Where's Mr. Smith?''' Cargill said.
Back in Cincinnati, Smith was getting steamed.
After he repeatedly demanded an explanation, Comair's customer service manager arrived at the gate half an hour later and told Smith he would not be allowed to fly out of Cincinnati on any flight.
After first telling Smith that his physical description did not match information on his frequent-flyer card, the manager eventually explained about the mix-up in Roanoke.
But first, he summoned two security guards to watch Smith, according to the lawsuit.
As the minutes turned to hours and Smith was still stuck in the airport, he went so far as to call the chief executive of Comair. The CEO's secretary said he was "too busy" to talk.
Finally, Smith was allowed to fly back to Roanoke late in the afternoon, after he had missed his meeting in Minneapolis.
Comair officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Robert Richardson, manager of Comair operations in Roanoke, said Friday night he had not heard about the lawsuit. He declined to comment before speaking with the company's legal staff.
"Quite frankly," Cargill said, "Mr. Smith would have walked away from all of this if [the airline] had just treated him with some courtesy and said they were sorry."
by CNB